Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which can be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider knowledge, you can travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to look into those frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best price. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide various features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. Then it’s all about building up miles, and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some delicious travel! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are a few examples from some of the ones I have experience with:
Escape by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll get access to almost every airline. You can use a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the entire price, you can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Be careful that if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on one flight. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of points away, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to join your points with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3%. It may be worth it in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to pay for the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future then ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they will repay you.
Repay the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about making payments on them with the credit card you have. Make sure to pay the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy gifts
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid paying more than you planning to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. You can earn miles or points to be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use your travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles for the costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another method to reach the minimum spend and earn points is utilising your credit cards for daily costs. This could be items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, including dining or travel. Make sure you review your credit card’s rewards program and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest. It will also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For example you can use points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This can give the benefit of a larger selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should find out the card’s benefits. some perks that could reduce your travel expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with someone else each of you will be able to earn rewards using your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card, and be sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re making use of it in the most effective method. Through a combination of the methods I’ve described that you can get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.